Multi-room amplifier tips needed

[bigpal]

Hello, I'm a audionooblet, so bear with me.
I am doing speakers on four of my rooms in my home (one pair of speakers per room), have them installed and wired, but not yet powered. I have volume switches set up in each room, so I'm ready to go, just need power. As of now I plan to use one or more Monster SS4 multi-speaker selectors.

I have an old Sony STR-DE835 receiver, which is 5.1ch (5x100w). It has an A/B/A+B speaker switch.
* Question 1, does speaker channel A and B both provide 100watts power, or is it sharing the same power when both are in use?
* Question 2, the amp can provide up to 500w power, is there I way I can use this power, instead of splitting 100w between 4 pairs of speakers? The Polk RC60i speakers I have will handle up to 100w each.

Open question to the audiophiles here - How can I best power 8 total speakers with this amplifier?



Thanks in advance.

BP

 

[XEagleDriver]

No and No, new Receiver or Amp a good idea.

PB,
Welcome to the forum,

. . . doing speakers in four of my rooms in my home (one pair of speakers per room), have them installed and wired, but not yet powered. I have volume switches set up in each room, so I'm ready to go, just need power. As of now I plan to use one or more Monster SS4 multi-speaker selectors.

I have an old Sony STR-DE835 receiver, which is 5.1ch (5x100w). It has an A/B/A+B speaker switch.

* Question 1, does speaker channel A and B both provide 100watts power, or is it sharing the same power when both are in use?

No, the A and B speaker outputs share only one set (L/R) of "100 watt" amplifiers. This is highlighted on page 17 of the 835's manual, in a "Note" which cautions you must only use 8-ohm speakers for A and B if you intend to run the A+B speaker option. Furthermore, on page 27 it states the A & B speakers are connected in parallel inside the AVR. This is the reason for the 8-ohm requirment when using A+B (i.e. two 8-ohm speakers connected in parallel = 4 ohm overall load).

Question 2, the amp can provide up to 500w power, is there I way I can use this power, instead of splitting 100w between 4 pairs of speakers? The Polk RC60i speakers I have will handle up to 100w each.

Not that I could find in the manual. To do so would require having a "5-Channel stereo" or "7-Channel stereo" mode (not in the 835) which could push a stereo signal to all connected speakers/pairs (Front L/R, C, Surr L/R). This type sound field is found on many newer AVRs (my Yamaha 563 and Denon 988 both have it, for example). FWIW, no 22 lb "Class A/B" amplified AVR (like the 835) is capable of simultaneously pushing 100 watts to all 5 channels--their claim to do so is a marketing ploy.

Using an AVR in a 5/7-Channel Stereo mode can work, BUT it does imply that powering the 4-sets of dispersed "room speakers" is the only job the AVR will be doing--i.e. you would give up being able to power any multi-channel music or HT set-up in a "main room".

Open question to the audiophiles here - How can I best power 8 total speakers with this amplifier?

The following post discusses a similar problem:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52941

BOTTOMLINE, I think you would be best served by getting a newer AVR or multi-channel amp depending on your total anticipated needs (future MC or HT room?).

If getting a new AVR, ensure it is a 7.1 model with assignable amplifiers and a 7-Channel Stereo mode--very common these days at only a marginal increase in cost.

This route would provide the option to assign the Surround Back amps to a SS4 and power the 4-sets of room speakers. Or use the new AVR's 7-Channel Stereo mode and give almost each set of speakers it's own amplifier set. The Yamaha 563 is one relatively inexpensive AVR with these capabilities, there are many others.

To best leverage a new AVR's amplifiers I would buy two SS4s. Connect one SS4 to the Front L/R speaker output, and connected the other SS4 to a "bi-amp assigned" Surround Back L/R speaker output. Then connect each SS4 to two speaker pairs (two rooms for each SS4). This would preserve the flexability to have a MC main listening or HT room. In addition, you would not gain any sonic improvement by "employing" more of the AVR's other available amps.

Best of Luck,
XEagleDriver

 

[highfigh]

Hello, I'm a audionooblet, so bear with me.
I am doing speakers on four of my rooms in my home (one pair of speakers per room), have them installed and wired, but not yet powered. I have volume switches set up in each room, so I'm ready to go, just need power. As of now I plan to use one or more Monster SS4 multi-speaker selectors.

Open question to the audiophiles here - How can I best power 8 total speakers with this amplifier?

Thanks in advance.

BP

The main factor in how well this will work is "How loud do you plan to play the 4 pairs in the other rooms?" If it will always be only at background levels, your worries about power aren't necessary. If you want to have loud parties with all rooms blasting, buy a separate amp for the other rooms and feed that with Zone 2 line out if the receiver has it. Also, look into the load that will be presented to the Sony by the SS-4, because many of these maintain a load, but it's often 4 Ohms and that won't make the receiver happy. Also, the fact that it needs heat sinks to keep cool means that a lot of the power you'll be sending through it will be lost as heat.

You said that you plan to use "one or more" SS-4 and if it's so you can add speakers, that's fine but there are other ways. You can buy an impedance matching device like the one in the link, then set the volume controls to minimum in order to turn the speakers off in each room. If those rooms are too far to be running all over the house just to turn the speakers off, I would use a switching device that wastes less energy.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=182-820&FTR=Wired Home WH10SDH&CFID=7031848&CFTOKEN=13963646

 

[bigpal]

Thanks!

Thank you for the responses, absolutely perfect.

I have another newer receiver that I may need to give up for the job instead of the Sony. This one is a Yamaha HTR-5740, and I believe it will support multi-channel stereo, and it is 6.1. I going to read the manual somewhere on the internet.

Thanks for helping me and not just telling me to RTFM! I should've done that first though, no doubt, but your explanation was perfectly clear to me.



BP

 

[bigpal]

Final Plan for multi-home

Here is my final plan:

I'm using the Yamaha HTR-5740, which supports 6 channel output using a 2-channel input. I will have two Monster SS4 speaker selectors - the first SS4 will get the power from the Front L/R channels, and the second SS4 will get power from the rear L/R channels. I will configure the amp for a 4-channel setup, which will not output to the center and rear surround, since they will not be used. This will give me 85 watts per selector, and I highly doubt that 2 pair will ever run at the same time, at least the way I separate them out per selector. If there is a need for that, it will be background or moderate volumes.

This leaves my Onkyo 606 7.1 for the main entertainment room, and my Sony STR amp for my bedroom, which is more than sufficient.

Thanks eagle, you got my gears turning properly. If this is of enough interest to the forum, I will post my final thoughts on the performance using the Yamaha amp at 85w/ch along with the Polk RC60i ceiling speakers.

Cheers.
- BP